Troubleshooting Rotating Machinery by Robert X. Perez and Andrew P. Conkey

Troubleshooting Rotating Machinery Robert X. Perez and Andrew P. Conkey

Contents:

Chapter 1  Troubleshooting for Fun and Profit

Chapter 2 An Insight in Design: Machines and Their Components Serve a Function

Chapter 3 Machinery Design Issues and Failure Modes

Chapter 4 Machinery in Process Services – The Big Picture

Chapter 5 Causes Versus Symptoms

Chapter 6 Approach Field Troubleshooting Like a Reputable News Reporter

Chapter 7 The “What” Questions

Preface:

Troubleshooting is part science and partart. Simple troubleshooting tables or decision trees are rarely effective in solving complex, real-world machine problems. For this reason, the authors wanted to offer a novel way to attack machinery issues that can adversely affect the reliability and efficiency of your plant processes. The methodology presented in this book is not a rigid “cookbook” approach but rather a flexible and dynamic process aimed at exploring process plant machines holistically in order

to understand and narrow down the true nature of the problem. Throughout this book, the term process machinery will be used to refer to rotating machinery commonly encountered in processing plants, such as centrifugal pumps and compressors, reciprocating pumps and compressors,fans, steam turbines, and electric motors.Our first book in this series, Is My Machine OK? deals, in large part, with assessing process machinery in the field. This guide takes the assessment process to the next level by helping operators, mechanics, managers, and machinery professionals better troubleshoot process machinery in-situ, i.e., in the field. To cover the topic of troubleshooting, the authors will cover the following topics in this book :

• What field troubleshooting means and

entails

• How to use this guide as a complement to Is My Machine OK?

• Using the “who, what, when, where, why” troubleshooting methodology

• How to use cause maps to investigate possible causes

• Real-world case studies

• How to use machine-specific trouble shooting tables

To be successful, the troubleshooter must be persistent, open-minded and disciplined. Once field data is collected, an unbiased, logical approach to the finding is required to hone in on the most probable source of an observed symptom (or symptoms). Without a comprehensive and logical analysis of the findings, the investigator is only guessing, which wastes valuable time and resources. We hope those reading and using this guide will fully utilize the ideas and concepts presented to minimize maintenance cost and risk levels associated with machinery ownership.